Forget Just Locking Your Laptop's Wireless Modem, Now Operators Can Lock The Whole Machine

from the more-bars,-but-not-the-good-kind dept

Mobile operators are increasingly looking to sell non-phone devices like laptops and netbooks with embedded or add-on wireless modems as a way to boost their subscriber figures and generate extra income. Typically, consumers buy the device at a discounted upfront cost, then get tied in to a long-term contract for monthly data service (2 years at $60 per month seems to be the norm in the US). If users quit paying their bills, in theory, they've gotten a laptop on the cheap, though of course they're still subject to the terms of the contract, and damage to their credit, and so on. But Ericsson, which makes a lot of the embedded modems, has announced some new technology it's calling a "kill pill" that allows mobile operators to remotely lock a laptop by sending a signal to it over their network. The company says it's ideal if a data user quits paying their bills, but it's not hard to imagine mobile operators coming up with more nefarious uses for the device -- like shutting a machine down if a user closes their account, even if they've fulfilled their contract.

Filed Under: laptops, locks, subsidies, wireless
Companies: ericsson

After Being Educated About Negative Effects, Students Stop Using Laptops In Class

from the education-works?-imagine-that! dept

A while back, we noted that some professors at my school, Georgetown, were joining the trend of banning laptops in classrooms, pointing out that it was probably a futile attempt to force students to pay attention -- distracted, disinterested students have been and always will be a fact of life. However, one professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder has decided to actually educate her students about why using laptops in classes is a bad choice. Diane Sieber noted which students used laptops the most and, after their test, informed them that they had done 11 percent worse than analog-only students. The number of laptop users dropped and their scores went up. While Professor Sieber could have just as easily banned laptops, by treating her students like capable adults, she has produced a win-win.

Filed Under: classrooms, education, laptops

Bills Introduced To Protect Laptops At Border Searches

from the restoring-the-4th-amendment dept

As was widely expected following earlier statements from politicians such as Russ Feingold, legislation has now been introduced that would curb Homeland Security's ability to randomly search laptops at the border, instead, requiring them to have a "reasonable suspicion" of illegal activity before they can search or copy a hard drive. This would be a huge step forward in terms of reasonable levels of privacy at the border. While defenders of the random search program claim that it's necessary, they give little proof. You can tell because their arguments could equally be applied to searching a random person on the street as well, as they just give vague platitudes about protecting the country from harm. Yet our country has privacy rights and probable cause for a very good reason. It's nice to actually see some politicians standing up to make sure that Homeland Security live up to those ideals.

Filed Under: border, customs, homeland security, laptops, russ feingold, searches

HP And Walmart Get Rid Of Laptop Box; Buy The Computer And Get It In A Messenger Bag

from the about-time dept

Having bought my fair share of laptops over the years, I've noticed that the packaging has gotten smaller. I remember years ago buying a laptop and receiving a huge box with the actual laptop suspended in a styrofoam suspension system. More recently, I've seen laptops coming in much smaller boxes. However, Wal-Mart and HP have apparently decided to try ditching most of the packaging altogether, and letting you walk out with your new laptop in a messenger bag, rather than a box. Yes, there are still boxes from when the machines are shipped from HP to Wal-Mart, but the company can now fit 3 laptops to a box, significantly reducing packaging and making life easier on customers in the long run.

Filed Under: boxes, laptops, packaging
Companies: hp, wal-mart

TSA Vendor Who Lost Laptop Apologizing To People Who Didn't Even Apply

from the good-record-keeping dept

We recently wrote about how TSA-approved vendor, Verified Identity Pass, had lost a laptop containing all sorts of unencrypted data on people who had applied to be a part of the TSA's "fast pass" Clear program (letting you skip the long security lines for a $100/year). While the laptop was eventually found (in the same place it was lost), the company insists that no data on the laptop was compromised, and has sent out emails to applicants for Clear. But, it appears that at least something is amiss as David Weinberger received one of the emails despite never having applied for the program. So apparently they're just informing people at random now. Or someone else applied in Weinberger's name. Makes you feel very secure, doesn't it?

Filed Under: clear, laptops, lost data, security, tsa, verified identity
Companies: verified identity pass

Is Taking A Laptop On Vacation Stupid?

from the well,-that-depends... dept

More than five years ago, we first discussed whether or not it made sense to take a laptop with you on vacation. Many people do so, and say that it's actually quite useful, because it allows them to stay caught up with work with just a little bit of effort. The end result is that when they get back to work, they're not overwhelmed with everything they missed. Now, however, a psychologist in the UK insists that taking a laptop on vacation is "stupid" and can break up your family. Seems a bit extreme. Having done vacations both with and without my laptop, I'd say that it actually depends quite a bit on the person, the job and the vacation (well, and the other family members). Mike Elgan, over at Computerworld does an excellent job shredding the psychologist's faulty logic:

Clearly he's not talking about attention itself, but diverting attention using a computer. Cooper's clear assumption is that work is "bad" and that leisure is "good," that technology (a laptop) is "bad" and non-technology (a book) is "good."

Cooper also makes a host of other assumptions. For starters, he assumes that you're disconnected from your own family all year, and need to "commune again with your family, connect with your children." So that's his advice? Become alienated from your own family, then "commune" with them for only two weeks a year? Why does he assume alienation in the first place?

Cooper assumes that you're some nine-to-fiver who doesn't do creative work. As an opinion columnist, good ideas can strike me anytime, anywhere. That's true for a lot of different kinds of people. For many, a laptop is merely a writing tool, and a source of information and inspiration.

An increasing number of digital nomads are traveling without taking time off. The laptop *enables* travel and time away with family rather than creating a problem while traveling.

It appears to me that Cooper is making a lot of assumptions, and using his credentials to give credibility to his anti-technology bias.

Indeed. There are both good things and bad things about taking laptops on vacation, but it's a choice that each person should make for themselves -- and if it makes sense for them, it's hardly "stupid."

Filed Under: laptops, vacation, work

Feingold Points Out That DHS's Chertoff Is Misleading On Border Laptop Searches

from the reasonable-cause? dept

Following the release of Homeland Security's policies for searching laptops at the border, where the rules are, effectively, "anything goes," DHS boss Michael Chertoff claimed that laptop searches were only done when the border guard had a "suspicion" and placed that individual in "secondary inspection." However, Senator Russ Feingold has now hit back, pointing out that the official DHS policies say absolutely nothing about there needing to be a suspicion or that laptop searches only happen on secondary inspection. If Chertoff were being honest, why wouldn't those things be in the official policy? And, if Chertoff insists that DHS will only do searches when there is a real suspicion, what's wrong with following the "probable cause" standard that it insists it should be allowed to ignore? It's nice to see Senator Feingold asking these questions.

Filed Under: border searches, customs, homeland security, laptops, michael chertoff, russ feingold, senate

Will DHS Border Search Logic Be Used To Allow Gov't Screening Of All Internet Traffic?

from the bad-potential-precedent dept

We've already explained how ridiculous it is for DHS to say that border patrol agents need to search laptops to prevent dangerous information from getting into the country. Obviously, if that was the intent of the individual, they'd just send the info electronically and not have to deal with any customs agents. Slashdot points us to a blog post by Steven M. Bellovin where he takes that same thought and flips it on its head, noting that, based on the DHS's statements, DHS may believe that it also has the right to scan any data entering or leaving the country. On top of that, he points out that this could potentially mean that if you encrypt that data you send over a border (say, via a VPN), you could potentially be violating laws that bans "hiding" goods that you send over the border. While the courts have not at all ruled in this way, you could pretty easily see the government making this sort of case.

Filed Under: border searches, customs, data transfer, laptops

TSA Loses Laptops With 'Verified' Flyer Details

from the your-middle-name-is-what-now? dept

The concept of a "trusted" or "verified" traveler program at airports has been shown as not particularly secure for years -- but it didn't stop the TSA from aggressively rolling out the program. There's no doubt that, for frequent travelers to locations participating in the "Clear" program, it's wonderful. You pay $100/year and you get to bypass all the security lines, and head to a special faster security screening line, supposedly because your background is already "cleared." As Bruce Schneier writes in the above link, in terms of security, all this really does is give those looking to break security a better target. Get some "terrorists" on the list, and you've just made life a lot easier.

Either that, or pretend to be someone on the list.

And what better way to do that then to get your hands on the details of everyone on the list. Well, it appears that the TSA has forgotten its middle name, and failed to protect its own laptop carrying the (unencrypted, of course) details of 33,000 people on the clear list (Update: to clarify, the laptop was actually lost by a TSA vendor, but considering these were applications made to the TSA, it's not clear that the difference here really matters). While it certainly may have just been lost or stolen by someone who wanted a free laptop, whoever has that laptop now has the names, addresses and driver's license or passport numbers of 33,000 applicants. It's unclear if it indicates which of those applicants were approved, but I would still imagine that info would be useful to someone looking to bypass airport security.

The company that runs the program, Verified Identity Pass, issued statement that isn't particularly comforting:

"We don't believe the security or privacy of these would-be members will be compromised in any way."

First of all, that's not true. If you've exposed people's names, addresses and driver's license or passport numbers, their security has certainly already been compromised. But, more importantly, rather than those individuals' security and privacy, I would be worried about overall airport security, which has now been compromised. Update: So, this is weird. The laptop has been found. Where was it? Right where it was last seen. Not clear if it was actually lost or someone just got confused or what -- but still not particularly comforting.

Filed Under: clear, laptops, lost data, security, tsa, verified identity

DHS Reveals Policies For Searching Laptops At The Border: Anything Goes

from the privacy-schmivacy dept

After courts repeatedly have ruled that border patrol customs agents can look through your computer hard drive, or even confiscate your computer, with no reasonable cause whatsoever, pressure from groups like the EFF have convinced Congress to investigate. As part of this process, the Department of Homeland Security has revealed its policies for border searches of electronic devices, and as you'd imagine, the policies are basically: "border patrol can do whatever it wants."

It does not need any reasonable cause. It take away your laptop for as long as it wants. It can copy the contents of your laptop and even share it with both other federal agencies and private entities for "language translation, data decryption or other reasons." Other reasons seems a bit broad.

We already explained how ridiculous the defense of this police was last month, by noting that it's not as if stopping this content at the border will actually prevent it from getting in the country. At that time we also pointed out how silly it was for a DHS supporter to claim that reasonable cause shouldn't be necessary because that's just not practical. That guy was unable to explain why it is practical throughout the rest of the country not to randomly search laptops, but at the border, suddenly it's not. However, this article now includes another defense from a customs official, saying that these searches "do not infringe on Americans' privacy." How do we know? Apparently, we just have to trust the DHS.

Luckily, this appears to be getting some attention from Congressional representatives who find the whole thing troublesome. The article notes that legislation to stop such searches will be forthcoming soon.

Filed Under: border patrol, customs, dhs, homeland security, laptops, searches